MOCK elections for the May 2025 midterm elections are being considered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by the second week of January 2025.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia revealed the target date on Monday during the contract signing between the poll body and PRO V & V, Inc. for the international certification of the 2025 automated election systems (AES).
Garcia expressed hopes that all preparations would be completed by the end of December, allowing them to proceed with the mock elections as scheduled.
“We’re already behind by at least one month, but we hope to catch up and complete everything within the timeline set for the mock elections,” Garcia said.
Under Republic Act No. 9369, a technical evaluation committee is required to certify that the AES, including its hardware and software components, is operating properly, securely, and accurately, at least three months before the election date.
PRO V & V, Inc. President Ryan Jackson Cobb highlighted that this contract differs from previous ones as it involves three providers instead of one, which presents a challenge for his team. “We’ve laid out a timeline where we can get everything accomplished,” Cobb said.
Meanwhile, other Comelec activities for the 2025 elections will proceed as planned, including the local source code review (LSCR), which began last month.
The LSCR will review the source codes for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) and the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) for overseas voters.
The review notes will be submitted to the international certification entity as part of the certification process.